Author: Michael

“Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story” draws a strong line between the titular character and the infamous American serial killer Aileen Wuornos, who lived a century later, but what does the show get right? Wuornos is played in the Netflix series by Ryan Murphy staple Sarah Paulson to completely captivating effect (Wuornos also previously appeared in an episode of Murphy’s “American Horror Story: Hotel,” then played by Lily Rabe). The show paints the future character as a serious fan of Borden and a student of the case. But the “Monster” series has always been a bit flighty when it comes to…

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An emotionally suffocated housewife. A husband who couldn’t care less. An audition for a local theater group. A cheesy musical with amusingly bad songs. A director who brings out the housewife’s inner fire. An obviously artificial descent into madness. All these elements come together beautifully in the 1992 “The Simpsons” episode “A Streetcar Named Marge.” In Jesse Eisenberg’s new film “The Debut,” not so much. Eisenberg wrote and directed the bittersweet 2024 comedy “A Real Pain,” and co-starred with Kieran Culkin as cousins on a heritage tour in Poland. It’s a sensitive movie, even when its characters aren’t, and it…

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